Earth Crew

Earth Crew is the core and life-blood of the Mahwah Environmental Volunteers Organization. Comprised of passionate volunteers, our mission is to “carry out service events that heal the natural environment and engage people in stopping environmental degradation.”

Earth Crew is the organization’s primary volunteer outlet and operates as the centerpiece for MEVO’s environmental work. Earth Crew christened MEVO with its first event in the summer of 2008, a trash cleanup at Winter’s Park in Mahwah, New Jersey. Since then, with the help of a continuously expanding and tremendously dedicated corps of volunteers, the Earth Crew has carried out dozens of environmental service events. With activities ranging from clean-up projects and trail rehabilitation to recycling bin distribution and educational presentations, the Earth Crew promotes sustainability in our communities to protect the welfare of the natural environment.

Past Earth Crew events include:

Clean-ups
Earth Crew’s trash cleanups are an integral part of what we do. In order to combat littering and its consequences – chemical damage to ground soil, harm to various animals exposed to trash, health risks to people, unsightly communities, etc. – Earth Crew works to eliminate these issues by removing garbage from the environment and disposing of it properly.

Tree planting and gardening
The Earth Crew’s horticultural efforts, such as events in conjunction with the New Jersey Botanical Gardens, help raise plants that not only give us precious oxygen but beautify the splendor of the environment.

Recycling drives
Earth Crew works with another non-profit, Principia NP, to encourage recycling old electronics. If sent to a landfill, their components, such as internal batteries, poison the environment. During Earth Crew recycling drives, old electronics are accepted free of charge and sent to a special processing center where they are broken down safely and effectively.

Trail maintenance, construction and rehabilitation
Environmental enthusiasts love to hike but without proper paths to walk on, human activity causes erosion and harms flora. Earth Crew partners with the NY-NJ Trail Conference to restore hiking trails throughout the New York / New Jersey area so people can enjoy nature without inadvertently hurting it.

Recycling bin creation and distribution
Courtesy of Hydrosorbent Dehumidifiers in Massachusetts, Earth Crew inherits wooden bins that would otherwise be sent to a landfill and instead turns them into recycling containers that are distributed to schools, business and parks in the Tri-state area.

Educational assemblies and public outreach
Spreading awareness is one of the most effective ways of protecting the environment. Earth Crew participates in various types of public outreach programs in order to update people on pressing ecological issues. These include organizing assemblies in the Mahwah school district that teach students about the benefits of recycling (and the implications of not recycling), promoting anti-idling campaigns to decrease carbon emissions and visiting town fairs to raise local awareness.

Today, Earth Crew operates throughout northern New Jersey and upstate New York, carrying out environmental service events three or four times per month during the spring, summer and autumn seasons. Our volunteer base is led by and consists of young adults from both high school and college, stemming primarily from our home town of Mahwah and surrounding municipalities in Bergen County. MEVO strives to mitigate human impact on nature and instill an appreciation for it amongst our peers. Preserve the delicate ecological balance that colors our world each and every day for future generations!

Since 2008, the Earth Crew has

Engaged 340 people in volunteer events

Built up a volunteer base of over 1000 members

Carried out over 18,000+ hours of service

Directed 70+ volunteer events

Distributed 2309 compact fluorescent light bulbs

Up-cycled and distributed 213 industrial shipping drums into recycling bins, preventing 639 cubic feet of methane from entering the atmosphere each year

Planted 65 trees

Rehabilitated 11 miles of hiking trails

Built 6 miles of low-impact hiking trails

We need your help for these numbers to grow! Whether you can give just a couple of hours at a cleanup or organize entire events, the Earth Crew is always in need of passionate volunteers to aid us in our mission. Get involved today and do your part to protect the environment!